Painting Stolen from Reston Community Center — RCC became a target when a painting was stolen from an exhibition. Detectives embarked on “Operation Picasso” and were able to successfully recover the artwork. [Reston Patch]
Elden Street Robbery Under Investigation — A suspect attempted to rob a business on the 400 block of Elden Street on May 8. The suspect fled when confronted by a police officer. No money was taken and no weapon was shown. [Herndon Police Department]
Exercise on the Water with Reston Association’s Fitness Class — Try a new and fun way to exercise on water in this series of classes that begins on June 2 and runs through August 30. Participants must be proficient swimmers and be comfortable in deep water. [Reston Association]
Flickr pool photo by vantagehill
Reston Community Orchestra is closing out its 2018-2019 season with a Boston Pops-style concert.
The finale, titled “Delicious & Delectable,” is set for Sunday (May 19) at 4 p.m. at Reston Community Center Hunters Woods.
The highlight of the show is the Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2 with soloist Thomas Pandolfi. Light snacks and beverages will be offered during the show.
The first 36 patrons to make an advance donation of $15 to the RCO can reserve a table with refreshments close to the orchestra. A $90 donation holds a table for six.
Reservations are due by May 13 and can be submitted online.
RCO is funded in part by the Arts Council of Fairfax County, the Virginia Commission for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Photo via RCC
Connect Route 7 Public Meeting Tonight — State transportation officials are looking for feedback on their plans to widen seven miles of Route 7 between Reston Avenue and Jarrett Valley Drive from four to six lanes. A meeting is set for tonight at 7 p.m. at Forestville Elementary School in Great Falls. [Connect Route 7]
Local Investor’s Ties to Beyond Meat — “Los Angeles-based Beyond Meat Inc. had one of the most impressive initial public offerings in nearly two decades — but it was the company’s dedication to the science behind making a non-meat burger or sausage taste good that first drew in John Backus, co-founder and managing partner of Reston-based Proof.VC. [Washington Business Journal]
Deadline Extended for Fairfax County Parkway Survey — If you haven’t yet given feedback on planned improvements on the parkway, you still have a chance to do so online. State and county transportation officials have extended the deadline of an online survey to May 20. [Fairfax County Government]
Create Giant Paper Flowers Today — Scrawl Books is hosting a Reston Community Workshop on making giant paper flowers with cardstock tonight at 6 p.m. Registration is $40 for residents and $60 for all others. [Scrawl Books]
Photo by Tom J.
Reston’s Baby Expo returns this year on Saturday, May 18 at Reston Community Center Hunters Woods (2310 Colts Neck Road).
Event exhibitors will offer information about products, enrichment opportunities, childcare resources and fun activities for families. Resources are tailored towards families living in Northern Virginia.
The expo also includes demonstrations and workshops to highlight new skills and kid-friendly activities in a children’s play area. Door prizes will also be given away throughout the event.
The Reston Baby Expo is free and open to all.
Photo via Reston Community Center
Book lovers can get their hands on thousands of used books at the Friends of the Reston Regional Library’s semi-annual sale this weekend.
Although the spring sale started on Thursday for the public, the event continues today through 5 p.m., on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and on Sunday from noon to 3:30 p.m. at Reston Regional Library (11925 Bowman Towne Drive).
No children’s books will be offered at the sale. The next book sale is in mid-August right before the next school year begins.
Tomorrow (May 4)
- Reston Pet Fiesta (10 a.m. to 4 p.m.) — Dogs and their owners can enjoy this outdoor festival at Reston Town Center. The free event brings together businesses, rescue groups and pet owners for activities, demonstrations and entertainment.
- Spring Festival (1-5 p.m.) — Enjoy entertainment, animals, craft making for kids, and displays from local environmental groups at the Walker Nature Center (11450 Glade Drive). An animal show, interactive performance and puppet show are also planned.
- Tapestry of Peace and Justice (4-7:30 p.m.) — This “mixed-art” performance and exhibit combines music and images from artists of The Reston Art Gallery & Studios and League of Reston Artists, as well as poems from The Poetry Society of Virginia. Tickets are $25 for adults.
- Crescent Community Yard Sale (10 a.m. to 2 p.m.) — If you missed Reston Association’s big community yard sale last weekend, now is your chance to comb through items at the Crescent Apartments’ sale (1572 Cameron Crescent Drive).
Sunday (May 5)
- Hopecam 19th Annual 5k Run/Walk (9:15 a.m.) — Hopecam’s annual event helps children with cancer. The race begins at 9:30 a.m., followed by an awards ceremony and post-race celebration at 1890 Preston White Drive.
- Sunday Country Western Dance (5:30-8 p.m.) — Swing the night away to popular western tunes played by Reston Community Center’s DJ. The monthly event takes place at RCC Hunters Woods. Dancers must be 18 years or older.
- HGRTC Marketplace (noon to 5 p.m.) — Reston Town Center will host a home and garden marketplace for all plant lovers. The event is the first of its kind in the town center.
File photo
South Lakes High School Among Best Schools in the State — SLHS was ranked the 39th best high school in Virginia, according to rankings by the U.S. News & World Report. The rankings were released Tuesday and evaluate more than 17,000 schools across the country. [Reston Patch]
Police Investigate Shots Fired in Parking Lot — Last night, officers were on the 1500 block of Cameron Crescent Drive after receiving a report that a man fired shots in a parking lot. No one was hurt and the police department is investigating the incident. [Fairfax County Police Department]
Semi-Annual Book Sale at Reston Regional Library — Reston Friends get first dibs on the book sale today from 5 to 8 p.m. Thousands of books will be available for purchase. [Fairfax County Public Library]
Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Approves Budget — The board “gave preliminary approval to the $4.4 billion 2020 fiscal year budget. The proposed budget fully funds the operating budget request from Fairfax County Public Schools and holds the real estate tax rate at its present level.” [Fairfax News]
“Black America Again” and “Letter to the Free” Tonight— Enjoy a free screening at CenterStage at 7:30 p.m. “Black America Again” explores the perseverance of the black community and “Letter to the Free” documents the stories of talented jazz musicians at the Queens Detention Complex. The film is presented with promotional support from the Washington West Film Festival. [Reston Community Center]
Photo by Wade Gilley Sr
Reston Community Center is seeking performing arts groups of all ages and cultures for the 19th annual Reston Multicultural Festival. The event takes place on Saturday, September 28 at the historic Lake Anne Plaza.
Applications are due by June 14. Interested groups or individuals should submit RCC’s entertainment application form, which is available online.
All application packets should include audio and video sampling the group’s work. Instead of requiring auditions, RCC will use submission materials to select artists. Samples should be recent and represent work that the individual or group will perform.
The festival’s entertainment committee will review submissions using criteria like artistic merit, production value, evidence of authentic traditions and forms of specific cultures, and overall merit of the performance to the festival. Performances geared toward a specific religion are allowed, but the act should not “proselytize or overtly promote any faith over another,” according to event organizers.
Material should also be suitable for all ages and free of content would be “inappropriate for a diverse, multicultural and multigenerational audience,” according to RCC. Special consideration will be given to Reston-based organizations.
Artists selected for the festival will be notified by July 12. Art vendors, community organizations and food vendors must also submit applications by June 14.
Photo by Reston Community Center
Hunter Mill Supervisor Candidates’ Forum To Take Place Today — Reston Citizens Association is hosting a forum after Reston Community Center at Lake Anne today from 7-9 p.m. Moderators will lead the discussion, but questions will be accepted from the audience. [Reston Citizens Association]
Brookfield Platform Gives Access Across 13 Buildings — Brookfield Properties is rolling out a new platform that gives office tenants across a 13-building portfolio, including several buildings in Reston like Halley Rise and Summit II. [Bisnow]
Silver Line Phase Two Construction Prompts Lane and Ramp Closures –– Several lanes will be closed through Saturday this week, including parts of Herndon Parkway, Sunrise Valley Drive, Sunset Hills Road and Dulles Toll Road. A complete list of closures is available online. [Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project]
Flickr pool photo by vantagehill
Luke Frazier, a pianist and founder of the American Pops Orchestra, is set to take part in a program featuring the music of Irving Berlin tomorrow (April 11) at CenterStage (2310 Colts Neck Road).
The program, which is part of CenterStage’s “Meet the Artists” series, will also feature other musicians. The event is made possible through a partnership between Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at George Mason University and Reston Community Center.
Berlin was an American composer and lyricist who produced ballads, dance numbers, novelty tunes and love songs. His work forms a major part of the Great American Songbook.
The event, which will take place from 2:15-3:30 p.m., is free and open to all ages.
Photo via Reston Community Center
(Updated) Reston will welcome a new public art piece when the Reston Community Center debuts its newly renovated Terry L. Smith Aquatics Center in the fall.
RCC chose mosaic artist Valerie Theberge to create mosaic artwork for two large wall panels adjacent to the pool overlook area.
RCC’s Executive Director Leila Gordon told Reston Now that having Theberge on board from the start of the renovation, which will update the 40-year-old aquatics center with two pools, allows for the engineers, designers and the artist to plan how the wall with the art will look and get used, with conversations ranging from color palettes to electrical engineering decisions.
Theberge has been working with the project team, which includes RCC’s Deputy Director John Blevins and Martha Sansaver, Karen Davis and Geoff Kimmel from the Department of Public Works and Environmental Services and the contracting firm Branch Builds — previously named Branch & Associates.
Currently, Theberge is in the preliminary design stages for the art, which will occupy two main panels that are about 50 square feet each.
“I keep getting snapshots of what’s going to come and it keeps percolating, because we have been talking about this for a year,” she told Reston Now. “It will be strong and vocal.”
Unlike her previous mosaic art at the Glade Drive Underpass and the Dogwood Pool, Theberge says this piece is influenced by its different location, one that she describes as indoors, focused on people instead of nature and “white, clean, quiet.”
“The other ones are very earth-centered and this is very water-centered,” Theberge said, adding that she plans to add “sparklers” so that viewers will feel movement in the art.
In a group interview with Reston Now, Theberge and Gordon shared different elements that stand out to them about the aquatics center, including the contrast between the water’s buoyancy and the hard surfaces on the ground, the windowless cave-esque location, the polarity between the exterior and interior worlds and the action of people stripping off layers of clothing before they get into the water. While some of those evocative ideas might sound harsh or vulnerable, Gordon emphasized that “it is hard to be hostile in the presence of art.”
Once Theberge has a design, she said she will build the two pieces in her studio before they get bolted onto the wall.
Once installed, community engagement activities and art workshops will allow Restonians to respond to the art. “It’s not one monolithic swimming community. There are families. There are older adults. There are swim teams, and every one of those groups of people have different desires,” Gordon said.
The Reston Community Center is now in its fourth month of a nine-month renovation of the Terry L. Smith Aquatics Center.
Demolition of the existing pool and surrounding deck, which started in late January, finished in March, according to an update from RCC. The demolition resulted in more than eight tons of steel from the ductwork and ceiling that will get recycled. Several tons of concrete, rebar, stainless steel drains and other materials were salvaged.
“In addition, the excavation revealed that the years-long water infiltration problems RCC experienced probably resulted from a combination of poor drainage and water leaking from the pool shell,” the April 1 update said, adding that the project will include corrective measures for the drainage issues and ensure the new pools have water impermeable shells.
The 40-year-old aquatics center is getting a makeover that will add two pools — a 25-yard lap pool with zero-depth entry and a warm-water therapeutic pool — along with a new roof. The facility is slated to reopen in October.
Photos via Reston Community Center
Just a few days after Founder’s Day, CenterStage at Reston Community Center will have a free screening of a Reston filmmaker’s documentary on Bob Simon’s vision.
Director Rebekah Wingert’s 2015 documentary “Another Way of Living: The Story of Reston, VA” chronicles Simon’s journey to creating his version of a suburban utopia.
Wingert grew up in Reston and returned to live there in the early 2000s.
The screening is set to start at 7:30 p.m. next Wednesday (April 10).
“Another Way of Living” departs from Wingert’s other documentaries, which have focused on Palestinians.
Wingert’s latest production, “Naila and the Uprising,” tells the story of women fighting for freedom in Palestine. The documentary is part of the “Women, War and Peace II” series and is currently streaming on PBS.
Photo courtesy Reston Community Center
The Reston Community Center (RCC) is planning a concert and meet-and-greet with acclaimed pianist George Fu.
The event is set for Thursday, April 4, from 2:15-3:30 p.m at the CenterStage (2310 Colts Neck Rd). The concert will be free and appropriate for all ages.
A Facebook post for the event says Fu will be joined by Chelsea Wang, a classmate from the Curtis Institute of Music, for a four-hand piano recital.
The concert is part of the RCC’s ongoing Meet the Artists series. Fu was previously featured in the RCC’s Meet the Artists series in 2016.
Fu has worked with a variety of orchestras, including performing as a soloist with the National Symphony Orchestra, and is returning to Reston following a stint at the London Conservatory of Music.
Photo via Facebook
Lake Anne will have a new art exhibit ahead of Founder’s Day.
The exhibit will run from April 1-29 at the Jo Ann Rose Gallery (2310 Colts Neck Road). Founder’s Day, which celebrates Reston’s founder Robert E. Simon, Jr. and the community’s history, will be held on Saturday, April 6, at Lake Anne Plaza.
“In this exhibit, artists step back and focus on things that evoke feelings — anger, happiness, serenity — and give color to them through their art,” Reston Community Center’s website says. “They hope to capture the intensity of a moment and convey the message that reality is not what we see, but what we discover and create for ourselves.”
Pat Macintyre, the founder of the League of Reston Artist, is a sponsor of this exhibit, according to RCC.
A reception is set for Sunday, April 7, from 2-4 p.m.
Photo courtesy Reston Community Center
Ahead of her tour stop at Reston Community Center, Grammy-nominated jazz singer and songwriter Jazzmeia Horn shared with Reston Now details on her upcoming album and when Restonians can expect to see her again.
Horn told Reston Now her 2017 album “A Social Call,” which earned her a Grammy nomination in 2018, was a bold, political statement. Her next album “Love and Liberation” will explore how the act of love is a liberating choice, adding that listeners can expect some love songs.
Horn’s own self-love story came from accepting her deeper voice. Now, she wants to encourage her daughters to embrace their individuality.
The album is set to debut this summer.
Horn is also working on plans for a world tour. While she said she doesn’t think she’ll back at RCC this year, Restonians might see her next year on the second half of her tour.
She is set to perform on CenterStage (2310 Colts Neck Road) at 8 p.m. on Saturday (March 30). Tickets cost $20 for Restonians and $30 for everyone else.
“I want everyone to have a great experience — to have an openness and to enjoy the music and be free,” Horn said.
Photo by Jacob Blickenstaff
